# 1997 in Brazilian football

The following article presents a summary of the 1997 football (soccer) season in Brazil, which was the 96th season of competitive football in the country.

## Campeonato Brasileiro Série A

Second phase
Group A :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Vasco da Gama | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 5 | +9 | 14 | Qualified for the final |
| 2 | Flamengo | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 8 | |
| 3 | Juventude | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 11 | −5 | 7 | |
| 4 | Portuguesa | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 4 | |
Group B :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Palmeiras | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 16 | Qualified for the final |
| 2 | Santos | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 10 | −1 | 7 | |
| 3 | Internacional | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 6 | |
| 4 | Atlético Mineiro | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 6 | |
Final
Vasco da Gama were declared as the Campeonato Brasileiro champions because the club had scored more points than Palmeiras throughout the year.

### Relegation

The four worst placed teams, which are Bahia, Criciúma, Fluminense and União São João, were relegated to the following year's second level.

## Campeonato Brasileiro Série B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion | AMG | PON | NAU | VIL |
| 1 | América-MG | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 13 | Promoted to Série A 1998 | | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| 2 | Ponte Preta | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 11 | Promoted to Série A 1998 | 1–0 | | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| 3 | Náutico | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 8 | | 0–2 | 3–0 | | 4–0 |
| 4 | Vila Nova | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 12 | −9 | 1 | | 0–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | |
América Mineiro declared as the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B champions.

### Promotion

The two best placed teams in the final stage of the competition, which are América-MG and Ponte Preta, were promoted to the following year's first level.

### Relegation

The worst placed team in each one of the five groups in the first stage, which are Moto Club, Central, Sergipe, Giatuba and Mogi Mirim, were relegated to the following year's third level.

## Campeonato Brasileiro Série C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | SMC | JUV | FRA | TUP |
| 1 | Sampaio Corrêa (P) | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 12 | | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 |
| 2 | Juventus (P) | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 8 | 2–2 | | 2–1 | 3–1 |
| 3 | Francana | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 7 | 1–1 | 1–0 | | 1–2 |
| 4 | Tupi | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 6 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | |
Sampaio Corrêa declared as the Campeonato Brasileiro Série C champions.

### Promotion

The two best placed teams in the final stage of the competition, which are Sampaio Corrêa and Juventus, were promoted to the following year's second level.

## Copa do Brasil

The Copa do Brasil final was played between Grêmio and Flamengo.
Grêmio declared as the cup champions on the away goal rule by aggregate score of 2-2.

## Regional and state championship champions

Regional championship champions
| Competition | Champion |
| Campeonato do Nordeste | Vitória |
| Copa Centro-Oeste | Rio Branco |
| Torneio Rio-São Paulo | Santos |
State championship champions
| State | Champion | State | Champion |
| Acre | Rio Branco | Paraíba | Confiança-PB |
| Alagoas | CSA | Paraná | Paraná |
| Amapá | Ypiranga | Pernambuco | Sport Recife |
| Amazonas | São Raimundo | Piauí | Picos |
| Bahia | Vitória | Rio de Janeiro | Botafogo |
| Ceará | Ceará | Rio Grande do Norte | ABC |
| Distrito Federal | Gama | Rio Grande do Sul | Internacional |
| Espírito Santo | Linhares EC | Rondônia | Ji-Paraná |
| Goiás | Goiás | Roraima | Baré |
| Maranhão | Sampaio Corrêa | Santa Catarina | Avaí |
| Mato Grosso | Operário (VG) | São Paulo | Corinthians |
| Mato Grosso do Sul | Operário | Sergipe | Itabaiana |
| Minas Gerais | Cruzeiro | Tocantins | Gurupi |
| Pará | Remo | | |

## Other competition champions

| Competition | Champion |
| Copa dos Campeões Mundiais | Flamengo |
| Copa Pernambuco | Recife |
| Festival Brasileiro de Futebol | Coritiba |
| Torneio Maria Quitéria | Palmeiras |

## Brazilian clubs in international competitions

| Team | Copa Libertadores 1997 | Supercopa Sudamericana 1997 | Copa CONMEBOL 1997 | Intercontinental Cup 1997 |
| Atlético Mineiro | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Champions defeated Lanús | N/A |
| Cruzeiro | Champions defeated Sporting Cristal | Group stage eliminated finished second in the group | Did not qualify | Runner-up lost to Borussia Dortmund |
| Flamengo | Did not qualify | Group stage eliminated finished second in the group | Did not qualify | N/A |
| Grêmio | Quarterfinals eliminated by Cruzeiro | Group stage eliminated finished fourth in the group | Did not qualify | N/A |
| Portuguesa | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Round of 16 eliminated by Atl. Mineiro | N/A |
| Rio Branco | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Round of 16 eliminated by Deportes Tolima | N/A |
| Santos | Did not qualify | Group stage eliminated finished third in the group | Did not qualify | N/A |
| São Paulo | Did not qualify | Runner-up lost to River Plate | Did not qualify | N/A |
| Vasco | Did not qualify | Group stage eliminated finished second in the group | Did not qualify | N/A |
| Vitória | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Quarterfinals eliminated by Lanús | N/A |

## Brazil national team

The following table lists all the games played by the Brazil national football team in official competitions and friendly matches during 1997.
| Date | Opposition | Result | Score | Brazil scorers | Competition |
| February 26, 1997 | Poland | W | 4-2 | Giovanni (2), Ronaldo (2) | International Friendly |
| April 2, 1997 | Chile | W | 4-0 | Ronaldo (2), Romário (2) | International Friendly |
| April 30, 1997 | Mexico | W | 4-0 | Leonardo, Romário (3) | International Friendly |
| May 30, 1997 | Norway | L | 2-4 | Djalminha, Romário | International Friendly |
| June 3, 1997 | France | D | 1-1 | Roberto Carlos | Tournoi de France |
| June 8, 1997 | Italy | D | 3-3 | Lombardo (own goal), Ronaldo, Romário | Tournoi de France |
| June 10, 1997 | England | W | 1-0 | Romário | Tournoi de France |
| June 13, 1997 | Costa Rica | W | 5-0 | Djalminha, González (own goal), Ronaldo (2), Romário | Copa América |
| June 16, 1997 | Mexico | W | 3-2 | Aldair, Romero (own goal), Leonardo | Copa América |
| June 19, 1997 | Colombia | W | 2-0 | Dunga, Edmundo | Copa América |
| June 22, 1997 | Paraguay | W | 2-0 | Ronaldo (2) | Copa América |
| June 26, 1997 | Peru | W | 7-0 | Denílson, Flávio Conceição, Romário (2), Leonardo (2), Djalminha | Copa América |
| June 29, 1997 | Bolivia | W | 3-1 | Denílson, Ronaldo, Zé Roberto | Copa América |
| August 10, 1997 | South Korea | W | 2-1 | Ronaldo, Sonny Anderson | International Friendly |
| August 13, 1997 | Japan | W | 3-0 | Flávio Conceição (2), Júnior Baiano | International Friendly |
| September 10, 1997 | Ecuador | W | 4-2 | Denílson, Dodô (2), Emerson | International Friendly |
| October 9, 1997 | Morocco | W | 2-0 | Denílson (2) | International Friendly |
| November 11, 1997 | Wales | W | 3-0 | Zinho, Rivaldo, Rodrigo Fabri | International Friendly |
| December 7, 1997 | South Africa | W | 2-1 | Romário, Bebeto | International Friendly |
| December 12, 1997 | Saudi Arabia | W | 3-0 | César Sampaio, Romário (2) | Confederations Cup |
| December 14, 1997 | Australia | D | 0-0 | - | Confederations Cup |
| December 16, 1997 | Mexico | W | 3-2 | Romário, Denílson, Júnior Baiano | Confederations Cup |
| December 19, 1997 | Czech Republic | W | 2-0 | Romário, Ronaldo | Confederations Cup |
| December 21, 1997 | Australia | W | 6-0 | Ronaldo (3), Romário (3) | Confederations Cup |

## Women's football
### Brazil women's national football team

The following table lists all the games played by the Brazil women's national football team in official competitions and friendly matches during 1997.
| Date | Opposition | Result | Score | Brazil scorers | Competition |
| June 6, 1997 | Netherlands | W | 2–1 | unavailable | International Friendly |
| June 7, 1997 | Netherlands | L | 0–1 | - | International Friendly |
| December 11, 1997 | United States | L | 1–2 | Pretinha | International Friendly |
| December 13, 1997 | United States | W | 1–0 | Roseli | International Friendly |

### Domestic competition champions

| Competition | Champion |
| Campeonato Brasileiro | São Paulo |
| Campeonato Carioca | Vasco (FFERJ) Campo Grande (LIDERJ) |
| Campeonato Paulista | São Paulo |